Sports Digest

A round-up of today's other stories in brief

Pacquiao considers his options

BOXING:Should a highly anticipated clash with Floyd Mayweather Jr fail to materialise, Manny Pacquiao will pick from a shortlist of three opponents for an April 16th bout at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, the Filipino's promoter Bob Arum has said.

Arum told the Manila Bulletin that the shortlist consisted of former light-middleweight champion Shane Mosley, undefeated WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto and Mexico’s WBA and WBO lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez.

Meanwhile, local fighter Carl Frampton puts his undefeated professional record on the line at the Ulster Hall in Belfast tonight when he takes on Scotland’s Gavin Reid in a Celtic super bantamweight title fight.

England target home-based players after World Cup '

RUGBY:Players plying their trade overseas will be considered for the England team only in exceptional circumstances after the 2011 World Cup, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) said yesterday.

Although it has never been a widespread practice, a few England internationals have joined foreign clubs, notably in France where there is no salary cap. Current elite player squad (EPS) members Jonny Wilkinson, James Haskell and Tom Palmer play there, with Riki Flutey recently returned.

Having spent so long thrashing out a working agreement with the English clubs over player release, the RFU have not been happy to have to negotiate with individual French clubs and players.

New chief executive officer John Steele has written to all players and their agents warning them that after the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand overseas-based players would be selected only in exceptional circumstances.

The Club' takes top book award

AWARD: The Clubby Christy O'Connor, a fascinating insight in to the lives of those involved with St Joseph's Doora-Barefield GAA club in Clare, has been named the William Hill sports book of the year for 2010, writes Gavin Cummiskey.

An established writer on Gaelic games and a long-serving hurling goalkeeper for St Joseph’s, O’Connor said yesterday: “I am absolutely thrilled and honoured to have won this award, particularly when you look at all the excellent sports books written this year.

“When I decided to write this book, I wanted to pay tribute to my daughter Róisín and former team-mate Ger Hoey, both of whom passed away in the space of a week.

“I also wanted to portray the essence of what defines us in the St Joseph’s Doora-Barefield club, which required me to be as honest as I possibly could be.” John Giles’ A Football Man and Declan Lynch’s Days of Heaven took second and third place respectively.

Monfils leads French charge

TENNIS:Gael Monfils will get the chance to give France a flying start in this weekend's Davis Cup final against Serbia in Belgrade after yesterday's draw paired him against world number 49 Janko Tipsarevic in the opening singles.

Serbia’s world number three Novak Djokovic will take on Gilles Simon in the second singles on Friday. Simon got the nod ahead of Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra.

Aviva to back schools' athletics

ATHLETICS:Former world champion Eamonn Coghlan has given his backing to Aviva's new three-year deal to sponsor Irish schools' competitions.

“This sponsorship will mean that the promising and young athletes in Ireland will get the help and the support they need at a very vital stage in their development,” said Coghlan, a former schools’ champion before he went to Villanova University.

“Many young Irish athletes have been lost to the sport because there is no support there for them but the Irish Schools’ Athletic Association (ISSA) will now have the financial backing from Aviva to give that support and I’m delighted to see it happen.”

Aviva Ireland chief executive Jim Dowdall said: “When it comes to sponsorship most people think naturally of the Aviva Stadium of which we are very proud and now by working with the Irish Schools’ Athletics Association we are again investing in sports at the heart of the community,” said Dowdall.

The 2011 season gets underway in January, with 17,000 athletes competing, while Ireland will host the schools’ cross-country international on March 26th in Co Antrim.

Weather disrupts hockey programme

WOMENS HOCKEY:Predictably enough, the wintry weather has already forced the postponement of most senior hockey fixtures this weekend, the main casualty the five scheduled Irish Hockey League matches which will not now be played before Christmas, writes Mary Hannigan.

The Leinster branch has postponed its entire senior programme, although Munster has yet to decide on the fate of its games.